LestersLegends.com

Baltimore Ravens Preview

Aug 30, 2008

The Baltimore Ravens brought in John Harbaugh to be their new Head Coach this offseason. They are still known for their Defense and Harbaugh will have to play up to that strength because he’s limited offensively.

At QB Kyle Boller’s shoulder has eliminated him from the QB competition. Troy Smith looked to have the starting gig locked down until he was derailed with tonsillitis. That opens the door for Delaware Rookie Joe Flacco. I figured Flacco would get the starting job at some point this year, but didn’t anticipate it coming in Week 1, as it appears to be the case. Whoever mans the offense has a few options at their disposal. For the ageless Derrick Mason, who caught an amazing 103 catches last year. He also has the underachieving Mark Clayton and Demetrius Williams. If Todd Heap can stay healthy he would add a little more firepower. At Running Back Willis McGahee’s knee has kept him out of action. He will be limited early on. Fortunately for the Ravens Rookie Ray Rice has looked excellent in the Preseason, and could have a major role early on. Life will be a little tougher though without Jonathan Ogden.

Defensively this team is still led by Ray Lewis and Ed Reed. They are complimented nicely by Kelly Gregg, Dawan Landry, Bart Scott, Terrell Suggs, Chris McAllister, and Samari Rolle. They aren’t the dominating Defense they once were, but they still one of the better units in the league. Age could come into play for the Ravens, as many of the key starters are on the wrong side of 30.

The Ravens aren’t going to offer any false hope of making the playoffs next year. If they can get to 6 Wins they should consider it a successful season. They are just lacking too many weapons on Offense and are too vulnerable on Defense because of their age. This team could very well win 3 games next season.

Fantasy-wise the Ravens offer very little. Willis McGahee is worth having, but I don’t have an easy felling about him. Based on where in the draft you get them, I would rather have Ray Rice on my team. Derrick Mason is worth having as a third through fifth wideout. No matter who is quarterbacking this team, Mason makes a nice security blanket. Todd Heap is worth the risk as a low-end starting TE or high-end backup. He needs to prove he can stay on the field. The Defense is still worthy of being one of the top Defenses selected, but don’t be foolish and take them too early.